Malcolm Rivera
King Leopold II, born in Brussels in 1835, was the second child of the reigning Belgian monarch, Leopold I. He succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death. During his reign, Leopold pushed for a royal referendum that would allow the king to consult the electorate directly and use his veto according to the referendum results. This proposal was rejected as it would have given the king more power than the elected government. Leopold II was also the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private colonial project. He is often referred to as the Builder King due to the numerous construction projects he commissioned during his reign.
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What You'll Learn
Leopold II's reign as King of the Belgians
Leopold II, born in Brussels on 9 April 1835, was the second child of the then-reigning Belgian monarch, Leopold I, and his second wife, Louise-Marie of Orléans, the daughter of King Louis Philippe of France. He succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned until his death in 1909—a 44-year reign that was the longest of any Belgian monarch.
Leopold's public career began when he attained the age of majority in 1855 and became a member of the Belgian Senate. He took an active interest in the development of Belgium and its trade and urged the acquisition of colonies. He fervently believed that overseas colonies were the key to a country's greatness and worked to acquire colonial territories for Belgium. Leopold eventually began to acquire a colony as a private citizen, with the Belgian government lending him money for this venture. During his reign, he saw the empires of the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain in decline and expressed interest in buying their territories. In 1866, for example, he tried to persuade Queen Isabella II of Spain to cede the Philippines to Belgium.
Leopold played a significant role in the development of the modern Belgian state. He is popularly referred to as the "Builder King" in Belgium, in reference to the many buildings, urban projects, and public works he commissioned. However, he is chiefly remembered for the nightmarish practices that were carried out in his name. Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private colonial project undertaken on his behalf as a personal union with Belgium. He used the explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe authorised his claim and committed the Congo Free State to him. Leopold implemented a forced-labour system in the Congo that was quickly copied by other European colonial powers, with catastrophic consequences for the population.
In the early 20th century, as World War One threatened Belgium, Leopold's image was improved by his nephew King Albert I, who erected statues to remember the successes of his reign. However, in recent years, Leopold's legacy has been re-evaluated, with statues of him being removed following petitions that state they represent "the rape, mutilation and genocide of millions of Congolese". A UN working group has also called on Belgium to apologise for atrocities committed during the colonial era.
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The Belgian monarchy
Leopold II, the second child of Leopold I, succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death. He was known as the "Builder King" due to the numerous building projects he commissioned. Leopold II was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private colonial project. He pushed strongly for a royal referendum, which would allow the king to consult the electorate directly and use his veto according to the referendum results. This proposal was rejected as it would give the king power over the elected government.
Leopold III, who came to the throne in 1934, attempted to maintain Belgian neutrality at the outbreak of World War II. However, after the German invasion in 1940, he surrendered his country, a decision that was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot. Leopold's actions during the war were considered contrary to the Belgian Constitution, and his return to Belgium in 1950 sparked widespread protests and nearly caused a civil war. To prevent this, Leopold III abdicated in 1951, passing the throne to his son, King Baudouin.
Currently, two of Leopold III's grandsons are reigning monarchs: Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and King Philippe of Belgium, who ascended the Belgian throne in 2013.
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Leopold's expansion of monarch power
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians, from 1865 until his death in 1909. He was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private colonial project undertaken on his own behalf as a personal union with Belgium. He is known for his efforts to establish Belgium as an imperial power, leading the first European attempts to develop the Congo River basin. This resulted in the formation of the Congo Free State in 1885, which was annexed in 1908 as the Belgian Congo.
Leopold's reign was also marked by significant political developments in Belgium. During his rule, the Liberals governed Belgium from 1857 to 1880, and in their final year, they passed the Frère-Orban Law of 1879. This law established free, secular, and compulsory primary schools supported by the state while withdrawing funding from Roman Catholic primary schools. The Catholic Party regained power in 1884 and promptly restored state support to Catholic schools. In 1885, socialist and social democratic groups united to form the Labour Party, and the growing social unrest and the rise of the Labour Party ultimately led to the adoption of universal male suffrage in 1893.
Leopold also played a role in shaping Belgium's military policies. He emphasised military defence as the basis of neutrality and worked to strengthen the country's military capabilities. He successfully lobbied for the construction of defensive fortresses in Liège, Namur, and Antwerp. However, he was unable to obtain a reform of the military service system until he was on his deathbed. Leopold's efforts to expand Belgium's influence and power on the global stage had far-reaching consequences, particularly in the case of his colonial endeavours, which continue to shape the country's legacy today.
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Leopold's relationship with the Belgian Constitution
Leopold I was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. Leopold I swore loyalty to the constitution, under the supervision of congressman Jean-Baptiste Nothomb. However, Leopold I was generally unsatisfied with the amount of power allocated to the monarch in the Constitution and sought to extend it. The drafters of the Belgian Constitution aimed to make Belgium a constitutional monarchy, making the monarch a neutral and impartial arbiter. Despite this, Leopold I assigned himself significant powers, such as assuming multiple ministries and taking charge of many diplomatic, administrative, and military domains.
Leopold II succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death. He pushed strongly to enable a royal referendum, whereby the king would have the power to consult the electorate directly on an issue and use his veto according to the referendum results. The proposal was rejected, as it would have given the king the power to override the elected government. Leopold II was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private colonial project undertaken on his own behalf as a personal union with Belgium.
Leopold III came to the throne in 1934 after his father, Albert I, died in a mountaineering accident. During World War II, Leopold III took command of the Belgian Army at the outbreak of war, considering his constitutional position as commander-in-chief to take precedence over his civil role as head of state. In 1940, Leopold III surrendered Belgian forces to the Germans, a decision that Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot declared to be unconstitutional. This, along with allegations that his actions during World War II had been contrary to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution, led to a major political crisis in Belgium known as the royal question. The crisis was resolved by Leopold III's abdication in favour of his son, King Baudouin, in 1951.
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Leopold's legacy
Leopold II, King of the Belgians, is a controversial figure in history, particularly for his actions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Leopold's colonial project in the Congo has been described as one of history's greatest crimes against humanity.
Leopold's rule in the Congo began in 1885 and lasted until 1908. During this time, he implemented a forced labour system and oversaw widespread atrocities and exploitation, including the plunder of the country's natural resources such as ivory and rubber. This brutal period in the country's history had a catastrophic impact on the population, with a large death toll and a legacy of violence and chaos that continues to affect the DRC today.
In the early 20th century, statues were erected in Belgium to commemorate Leopold II, and the Belgian government celebrated his accomplishments. However, international outrage over the atrocities in the Congo Free State led to a scandal that threatened to tarnish Leopold's legacy. In response, the Belgian government attempted to shift the narrative by erecting monuments to honour Leopold's legacy and raise enthusiasm for the colonial enterprise.
In recent years, Leopold's legacy has once again come under scrutiny. The publication of "King Leopold's Ghost" by American historian Adam Hochschild in 1999 sparked a debate about Leopold's colonial rule in the Congo, with some activists accusing him of genocide. Protests, such as the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Brussels in 2020, have called for a reckoning with Belgium's colonial past and Leopold's role in it.
While some, like Belgian politician Louis Michel, continue to defend Leopold's actions as bringing "civilisation" to the Congo, others argue that the true legacy of his rule is a cycle of violence, poverty, and trauma that has persisted for generations.
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Frequently asked questions
Leopold II was the second child of the reigning Belgian monarch, Leopold I, and his second wife, Louise, the daughter of King Louis Philippe of France. He succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death.
Leopold II was a constitutional monarchy in name, as Belgium was established as a constitutional monarchy under a bicameral parliamentary democracy. However, Leopold II attempted to expand the powers of the monarch and was suspected of holding authoritarian and right-wing political views.
The Royal Question was a major political crisis in Belgium that lasted from 1945 to 1951. It centred around whether King Leopold III could return to the country and resume his constitutional role after World War II, given his controversial actions during the war.
Leopold II's role in the Royal Question was that he was the king whose actions during World War II were called into question. He was accused of acting unconstitutionally by surrendering Belgian forces to the Germans without consulting his ministers and was suspected of holding authoritarian sympathies.
The Royal Question was eventually resolved by the abdication of Leopold III in favour of his son, King Baudouin, in 1951.
